President William Ruto. /FILEPresident William Ruto has nominated Erastus Edung Ethekon for the position of chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
Ethekon is from Turkana county.
In a statement, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei said the President has also nominated six other persons as members of the commission.
These are Ann Njeri Nderitu (Nyandarua); Moses Alutalala Mukhwana (Kakamega); Mary Karen Sorobit, (Uasin Gishu); Hassan Noor Hassan (Mandera); Francis Odhiambo Aduol (Kisumu) and Fahima Araphat Abdallah (Lamu).
"This preidential action follows the recommendations of the Selection Panel on the recruitment of nominees for the positions of Chairperson and Members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, as transmitted on Tuesday, May 6, 2025," Koskei said.
He said in accordance with the law, the nominations have been transmitted to the National Assembly for consideration and approval by Parliament.
"In recognition of the indispensable role of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as one of the cornerstone institutions of our democracy and a custodian of electoral management, His Excellency the President has urged the National Assembly to prioritise the consideration of these nominations," he added.
Interviews for the chairperson position were held from March 24 to 26, while those for commissioner roles ran from March 26 to April 24.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Selection Panel submitted its final report on the recruitment of the commission's chairperson and six members to the President on May 6.
IEBC has not been fully constituted since 2023, following the expiration of Chebukati’s term.
A total of 37 people applied for the chairperson position.
All the 11 shortlisted candidates for the position of chairperson availed themselves to participate in the interview process.
The total number of Kenyans who applied for member of the IEBC stood at 1,333.
Of these 237 (17.77 per cent) were female, 1078 (80.87 per cent) male while 18 (1.35 per cent) did not attach National IDs on the applications.
The panel chaired by Nelson Makanda, concluded its month-long interviews on April 25 after interviewing candidates for both the chairperson and commissioner positions.
By law, the selection panel submitted the names of two top candidates for the chairperson position to the President.
The panel also proposed nine names for the commissioner positions, from which the President picked six nominees for parliamentary approval.
If approved by Parliament, the newly appointed commissioners will immediately be tasked with overseeing several pending by-elections and laying the groundwork for the 2027 General Election, marking a critical phase in the country's electoral preparedness.
The IEBC has remained partially vacant since the previous commissioners exited office, prompting the need for a new team to steer the electoral agenda ahead of the next national polls.
